The participation of North Korean units on the Ukrainian front will not bring about major changes and they will probably suffer major losses, said Colonel Ants Kiviselg, commander of the Estonian Defense Forces Intelligence Center. However, in the Donetsk region,
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Russian armed forces still hold the initiative and have forced the Ukrainian armed forces to gradually retreat, he added. "Unfortunately, there is nothing positive from the Ukrainian front line this week. The Russian Armed Forces still hold the initiative along the entire
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front line, which has forced the Ukrainian armed forces to gradually retreat," Kiviselg said at a Defense Ministry press conference. According to him, the average number of attacks per day remained at the same level as in previous weeks, i.e. about 167 attacks per day.
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"The Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are capable of capturing most of the territories in the Donetsk region, primarily in the areas of Pokrovsk, Kurakhove, Vuhledar and Velyka Novosilka. Over the past week, the Russian Federation has occupied an additional 150 square
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kilometers of territory in these regions," Kiviselg said. "In addition, there are signs that the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation are preparing assault strikes in the area of the Zaporizhzhia region. It is likely that the already known to us 76th Airborne Division
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with a permanent deployment location in Pskov, Then the goal will be to capture new territories, as well as additional involvement of the Ukrainian Armed Forces in this region," Kiviselg said. "To summarize, it can be said that alarming events continue to occur in the
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Donetsk region and the Donetsk region. It is possible that the Russian Armed Forces will achieve a local breakthrough in the Pokrovsk, Kurakhovo or Vuhledar areas this year," he added. The Russian army has asked to extend the deadline for taking Kursk. Speaking about
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the arrival of North Korean soldiers at the front, Kiviselg said that according to Ukraine, 3,000 soldiers of the 11th Army Corps of the North Korean Armed Forces, including several hundred servicemen of the North Korean special forces, have arrived in the Kursk region.
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"These servicemen probably arrived on the territory of the Russian Federation in early October, where they underwent preliminary training in the Eastern Military District, which lasted approximately two to four weeks, after which they were sent to the Ukrainian front,"
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Kiviselg said. "In total, North Korea had to allow the Russian Federation to send from 10 to 12 thousand soldiers, including 500 officers and three generals. Probably, the arrival of North Korean soldiers to the Ukrainian front will take place in stages. "The arrival of
the
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next North Korean units on the Ukrainian front will take place in the coming weeks," Kiviselg said. Kiviselg said that, as a rule, North Korean soldiers are trained for combat in mountainous terrain, which means that the territory of Ukraine, its climate and geography are
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unknown to them. "And therefore, their training does not actually require combat in such areas. The training they receive in the Russian Federation is certainly not very good. "Therefore, we can expect that North Korean units will suffer heavy losses in Ukraine, and
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presumably even heavier losses than the armed forces have suffered in the Russian Federation so far," Kiviselg said. Despite this, Kiviselg believes that it is possible that North Korea will continue to send units to Russia and the Ukrainian front. "Despite this, the
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intelligence center's assessment is still that this sending of North Korean units to the Ukrainian front will not bring about major changes at the moment. But if this kind of additional sending of units to Russia, their training, and then their arrival at
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the Ukrainian front continues for a long time, then this could certainly bring about certain changes on the front line," Kiviselg said.
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The defeat of Viktor Orban in the Hungarian elections, after he was strongly backed by Donald Trump and US Vice President JD Vance, has become a turning point for Europe’s far right. According to Politico, many ultra-right parties are now distancing themselves from Trump,
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as his increasingly aggressive stance toward Europe and the new war in the Middle East has made him politically costly. It is becoming clear that closeness to him can damage electoral prospects. “We need to keep our distance from him,” Marine Le Pen told members of her party
at a National Rally meeting, according to a senior party official present. A further factor has been Trump’s attack on Pope Leo XIV. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni had been one of the last European leaders trying to maintain good relations with Trump, but reportedly
russian President Vladimir Putin demanded that the government and the Central Bank explain why economic indicators are falling short of forecasts and again called for measures to restore growth, noting that GDP has been declining for two consecutive months. After slowing
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sharply to about 1% growth in 2025 due to weak domestic demand, high borrowing costs, and expanded Western sanctions, the economy has now shifted into contraction, shrinking by around 1.8% over the first two months of the year. The Ministry of Economic Development initially
attributed the decline to a calendar effect, citing fewer working days compared to the same period last year, but Putin dismissed this as insufficient and asked officials to explain why actual data is worse than their own projections. Speaking to senior economic officials,
The State Duma has approved in the first reading a bill expanding the powers of the President of russia to deploy troops abroad to “protect the rights of russian citizens.” According to the government proposal, Vladimir Putin would be able to use the military in response
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to the arrest, detention, or prosecution of russians in foreign countries, including decisions made by courts and international bodies that russia does not recognize. The president already has authority to send troops abroad under the law “On Security,” particularly if actions
by other states or institutions are seen as contradicting russia’s interests or public order. The new bill comes amid growing warnings from NATO and European intelligence agencies about a potential conflict involving russia and alliance members. In 2025, Germany’s BND warned
On average, from March 8 to April 5, russia exported 3.35 million barrels of oil per day - the highest export level since June 2022. Bloomberg reports this. The largest deliveries went to Asian countries, particularly India and China. In China, an average of 1.07 million
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barrels of oil per day was delivered, and to India - 1.9 million. Turkey also purchased 210 thousand barrels per day. Overall, russia earned about $2.02 billion per week from this export. Some russian tankers also do not have a specified destination. Instead, Suez or Port Sudan
is often listed as the final point. The number of such tankers is increasing, while the number of tankers officially heading to China and India is decreasing. In addition, the amount of oil loaded onto tankers at sea dropped to 105 million barrels. By mid-March, this figure was
Over the past couple of months, russian military sources have been reporting that the intensity of Ukrainian strikes on logistics has increased many times over. We are talking about so-called middle strike. Until 2025, despite innovations in drone technology, Ukraine was
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losing to russia in this segment. The “drone wall” developed by Ukraine is effective at relatively short distances - up to 20 km from the line of contact. At the same time, long-range drones were developed, which Ukraine has been actively using to strike oil refineries and
the military industry of russia, but until recently Ukraine could not effectively carry out middle strike. This problem began to be actively discussed in the summer of 2025, and since then the Armed Forces of Ukraine have taken the right steps in the right direction. In June,
The sharp rise in oil prices due to the war in Iran strongly plays into russia’s hands, as prices for russian oil grades have exceeded 100 dollars per barrel and Asian countries such as Vietnam, Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia and Sri Lanka are actively ordering russian
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oil, increasing the likelihood that demand in the region will exceed russian supply. This is driven by the easing of US sanctions. This allows russia, despite waging an aggressive war, to improve its standing on the international stage. Along with oil contracts, russia also
offers investments in other sectors and new business opportunities, including military cooperation. Thus, instead of isolation and toxicity, russia gains new markets and expands its influence. All thanks to Trump. However, oil is not only russia’s strength but also its most